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Human Game: The True Story of the 'Great Escape' Murders and the Hunt for the Gestapo Gunmen

Page 33

by Read, Simon


  British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), 205

  British government’s promise to bring killers to justice, 31, 32, 33, 98. See also Special Investigating Branch (SIB), RAF

  British Intelligence, 34, 45, 62, 65. See also London Cage

  British Military Court, 223. See also Sagan Case trial

  British murdered escapees, 31. See also specific murdered escapees

  British Occupation Zone, 38, 40, 58, 62, 66, 99, 117, 141, 151, 153, 158, 205, 208, 223

  Brno/Zlín (Gestapo and Kripo), xiv–xv. See also specific members

  investigation of, 73–84

  van der Bijil and, 64, 65–67, 72

  Zlín Frontier Police headquarters, 81–83

  Broli (Major), 246

  Bruchardt, Reinhold (Venediger’s right-hand man), xv, 164, 165, 166–170, 231

  Brüx, Germany, 101, 103, 105

  Buchenwald concentration camp, 14, 155

  Bull, Lester (Flight Lieutenant), viii, 100–101, 102, 103, 104, 239

  Bushell, Roger Joyce “Big X” (Squadron Leader), viii, 239

  background of, 2–3

  escape artist, 3–4, 11, 146–149, 234

  murder of, 98, 149–150, 150–159, 162, 218, 224, 230

  X-Organization, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 204

  Canadian murdered escapees, 31. See also specific murdered escapees

  Carter (Flight Lieutenant), 247

  Casey, Mike (Flight Lieutenant), viii, 186, 239

  Catanach, James (Squadron Leader), viii, 239

  background of, 201–203

  escape from Stalag Luft III, 20–21

  murder of, 19, 20, 22–26, 162, 201, 208, 209, 210–211, 212–213, 221, 222, 224, 230, 231, 232–233

  recapture of, 21, 22, 202, 202

  Central Registry of Prisoners of War, 18

  Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects (CROWCASS), 38, 196

  Central Security Office, Berlin, 16, 16n, 21, 38, 39, 75, 114, 181, 192, 232

  Christensen, Arnold (Pilot Officer), viii, 239

  background of, 202, 202, 203–204

  escape from Stalag Luft III, 20–21

  murder of, 19, 20, 22–26, 27, 162, 201, 208, 209, 210–211, 212–213, 221, 222, 224, 230, 231, 232–233

  recapture of, 21, 22, 202, 202

  Churchill, S. A. “Dick” (Flight Lieutenant), 171–172, 174

  Clausen, Herman (Kiel Security Police), 208

  Cochran, Dennis (Flying Officer), viii, 240

  background of, 129–130

  escape from Stalag Luft III, 130, 247

  murder of, 130, 132–138, 138–142, 162, 192–193, 224, 229, 230

  recapture of, 130

  cold case, 32, 33–42

  Colditz concentration camp, 4, 103, 147

  Cologne, Germany, 40, 57, 202

  compass factory, X-Organization, 7, 10, 171, 245

  concentration camps, xv, 14–15, 64, 65, 110, 131, 187. See also specific concentration camps

  “cooler, the” (solitary confinement), 28, 30

  Cornish, M. S. (Captain), 184–186, 187, 188

  Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC), U.S., 86, 87, 166, 199

  Courtney, Stephen (Flight Lieutenant), xiii. See also Special Investigating Branch (SIB), RAF

  Achter interrogation, 113–114

  Fritz (German Shepherd), 62, 96

  Gassner interrogation, 110–112

  Geith interrogation, 124–127

  Graes interrogation, 96–99, 163

  Greiner interrogation, 112–113

  Hebberling interrogation, 127–128

  internment camps canvassing, 62–63, 109, 113, 117–118, 121

  McKenna and, 62–63

  Schneider interrogation, 121–124

  Smit and, 62

  Weil interrogation, 115–117

  cremation of murdered escapees, 15, 19, 25–27, 31, 40, 41, 83–84, 89, 96, 101, 103–104, 105, 109, 112, 115, 126, 130, 133, 136, 150, 153, 155, 169, 171–172, 173, 174, 178, 197, 199, 205–206, 209

  Criminal Police. See Kriminalpolizei (Kripo)

  Cross, Ian (Squadron Leader), viii, 186, 240

  cyanide capsules for suicide, 54, 64, 232

  Czech Army Intelligence, 76

  Czech girl raped and murdered by Zacharias, 93–94

  Czech murders ordered by Hitler, 147

  Czechoslovakia, 17, 64–65, 72, 73, 85, 101, 102, 161, 162n, 227

  Czechoslovakian murdered escapee, 243. See also specific murdered escapee

  Czech Security Police, 103, 222

  Dachau concentration camp, 62–63, 115, 138, 195, 198

  Dakota transports, 36, 39, 90, 103

  Daniel, R. M. (Flight Sergeant), xiii, 176–179, 182–184, 219–220

  Danzig (Gestapo and Kripo), xv, 39, 96, 97, 98, 162–170. See also specific members

  Denkmann, Artur (Kiel Gestapo driver), xv

  Catanach, Christensen, Espelid, and Fuglesang murders, 23, 209–210, 212–213, 224

  Denmark, 17, 204, 214

  Dick tunnel, 4, 9

  Diels, Rudolf, 57, 58

  Dingermann, Gustav (Saabrücken Kripo), 149–150, 150–151

  disguises of escapees, 7, 9, 70, 71, 101, 130, 148, 245

  Dissner, Max (Strasbourg Gestapo), xvi, 197, 198, 199–200

  Distinguished Flying Cross, 203

  dreams of McKenna, 47–48

  Dulag Luft transit camp, 2, 129, 144–146

  Düsseldorf, Germany, 40, 42, 43, 44, 140

  “duty pilots,” 5

  “duty” to escape, 27, 28, 233

  Eastern Cemetery, Munich, 126

  Eden, Anthony (British Foreign Secretary), 31, 32, 35, 98, 126–127

  Egypt, 108

  Einsatzgruppen B, 181–182

  escapees (seventy-six), 11, 13, 25, 29, 30, 33. See also Great Escape, The

  escape from Stalag Luft III, 9–11, 28, 33, 34, 49, 148. See also Great Escape, The

  escape-proof design of Stalag Luft III, 1–2

  escapes from prison camps plaguing Germany, 14–15, 16. See also Great Escape, The

  Espelid, Hallada (Lieutenant), viii, 240

  background of, 204–205

  escape from Stalag Luft III, 21

  murder of, 19, 20, 22–26, 26–27, 162, 201, 208, 209, 210–211, 212–213, 221, 222, 224, 230, 231, 232–233

  recapture of, 21, 202, 202

  Evans, Brian (Flight Lieutenant), viii, 172–173, 189, 240

  excavated dirt, hiding, 2, 6

  execution list by Nebe, 18, 181

  execution of Stalag Luft escapees and Scharpwinkel, 17, 34, 36, 47, 176–179, 185–186, 187–188, 189, 222. See also murders of escapees (fifty) by Gestapo

  exhaustion of McKenna, 132

  exit order, 9–10

  Fanshawe, Peter (Lieutenant Commander), 6

  “ferrets,” 2, 5, 8–9

  Fifty, The, viii–ix, 15–16, 17, 18, 31, 41, 222, 239–243. See also Great Escape, The; Special Investigating Branch (SIB), RAF; specific murdered escapees

  final report on Sagan Case, 222

  First World War (WWI), 27, 91, 206, 226

  Flensburg, Germany, 19, 21, 22, 205, 208, 209, 215

  Focke-Wulf 190 fighters, 205

  “following orders,” 20, 23, 29, 67, 74, 88, 116, 124, 127, 133, 134, 137, 139, 140, 141–142, 153, 158–159, 169, 177, 179, 186, 195, 210, 224, 225–226, 228, 229, 230

  forgery department, X-Organization, 6–7, 10, 11, 71, 130

  4th Armored Division, Third Army, 119–121

  14th Armored Division, Third Army, 121

  France, 3

  Frankfurt, Germany, 3, 40, 41, 87, 130, 144

  Free French, 148

  French breakout from Oflag XVII-A, 14

  French murdered escapee, 31. See also specific murdered escapee

  French Occupation Zone, 38, 40, 75, 99, 100, 131, 151, 157, 158, 223

  French Resistance, 33, 130, 148

  French War Crimes and Political Prisoners Burea
u in Paris, 99

  Freshour (Lieutenant), 86, 87

  Frontier Police. See Zlín, Frontier Police

  Fuglesang, Nils (Lieutenant), viii, 240

  background of, 205

  escape from Stalag Luft III, 21

  murder of, 19, 20, 22–26, 26–27, 162, 201, 208, 209, 210–211, 212–213, 221, 222, 224, 230, 231, 232–233

  recapture of, 21, 202, 202

  Ganninger, Otto (Deputy Commandant of Natzweiler), xv, 135–136, 137, 138

  Garmisch-Partenkirchen internment camp, 110

  Gassner, Anton (Munich Kripo), xvi, 110–112

  Gehrum, Julius (Strasbourg Gestapo), 195

  Geith, Eduard (Munich Gestapo), xvi

  Gouws and Stevens murders, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 122, 123–124, 124–127, 224

  Sagan Case trial, 224, 229, 230

  Geneva Convention, 30, 92

  German Military Penal Code, 226

  Germany. See also American Occupation Zone; British Occupation Zone; French Occupation Zone; Gestapo; Great Escape, The; Hitler, Adolf; Kriminalpolizei (Kripo); Nazi Party; Russian Occupation Zone

  citizens murdering Allies, 143–144

  concentration camps, xv, 14–15, 64, 65, 110, 131, 187

  escapes from prison camps plaguing Germany, 14–15, 16

  highway banditry, 179–180

  interrogations of POWs, 144–145

  Luftwaffe, 13, 30, 63, 73, 106, 129, 144, 149, 173, 174

  microphones used by, 2, 4, 8, 145–146

  National Socialism, 181

  Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Army High Command), 13

  records, destroyed, 21, 64, 81, 117, 127, 141, 208

  ruins of, 39, 40, 43, 45, 52, 54, 143, 179

  Sicherheitsdienst (SD), 53

  solitary confinement for POWs, 144, 145, 146

  Stufe Römisch III order, 15

  Volkssturm (Home Guard), 174

  Wehrmacht, 49, 56, 149, 150

  winter of 1946-1947, 213–214

  Gestapo, xiv–xvi. See also Breslau (Gestapo and Kripo); Brno/Zlín (Gestapo and Kripo); Munich (Gestapo and Kripo); specific members

  Counter Espionage Branch, 115

  cremation of murdered escapees, 15, 19, 25–27, 31, 40, 41, 83–84, 89, 96, 101, 103–104, 105, 109, 112, 115, 126, 130, 133, 136, 150, 153, 155, 169, 171–172, 173, 174, 178, 197, 199, 205–206, 209

  Danzig (Gestapo), xv, 39, 96, 97, 98, 162–170

  “following orders,” 20, 23, 29, 67, 74, 88, 116, 124, 127, 133, 134, 137, 139, 140, 141–142, 153, 158–159, 169, 177, 179, 186, 195, 210, 224, 225–226, 228, 229, 230

  Karlsruhe (Gestapo), xv, 131, 132, 133–138, 139, 141

  Kiel (Gestapo), xv, 20, 22–27, 205–216, 216–217, 218–219, 220–222

  Kripo vs., 17

  Liberec (Gestapo), xvi, 100–101, 103, 104, 105

  mural of Gestapo satyrs, 77

  murders of escapees (fifty), viii–ix, 15–16, 17, 18, 31, 41, 222, 239–243

  Operation Bullet (Aktion Kugel), 15

  Strasbourg (Gestapo), xvi, 192, 193, 195, 197, 198

  Gmeiner, Josef (Karlsruhe Gestapo), xv

  Cochran murder, 133–134, 136, 137, 139, 141–142, 224, 230

  Gollwicer, 54. See also Seetzen, Heinrich (Breslau Security Police)

  Göring, Hermann (Reichmarschall), xiii, 1, 13, 15, 38, 110, 232

  Görlitz, Germany, 49, 52, 101, 106, 176, 178

  Görlitz prison, 17, 34, 37, 39, 41, 171, 172, 173, 174, 185, 186, 187, 189. See also Breslau (Gestapo and Kripo)

  Gouws, Johannes (Lieutenant), viii, 240

  background of, 108

  escape from Stalag Luft III, 108, 109

  murder of, 109, 113, 114, 115–118, 121–127, 224, 229, 230, 232

  recapture of, 111

  Graes, Erich (Danzig Kripo), xv, 96–99, 163

  Great Escape, The, 1–11. See also Gestapo; Kriminalpolizei (Kripo); Sagan Case trial; Special Investigating Branch (SIB), RAF; specific escapees

  approval for escape, 27

  ballot process, 9

  compass factory, 7, 10, 171, 245

  “cooler, the” (solitary confinement), 28, 30

  Dick tunnel, 4, 9

  disguises, 7, 9, 70, 71, 101, 130, 148, 245

  “duty pilots,” 5

  “duty” to escape, 27, 28, 233

  escapees (seventy-six), 11, 13, 25, 29, 30, 33

  escape from Stalag Luft III, 9–11, 28, 33, 34, 49, 148

  escape-proof design of Stalag Luft III, 1–2

  excavated dirt, hiding, 2, 6

  exit order, 9–10

  “ferrets,” 2, 5, 8–9

  forgery department, 6–7, 10, 11, 71, 130

  German discovery of escape, 11

  Harry tunnel, 4–5, 9–11, 14, 14, 172, 172, 235, 245

  Hut 104, 4–5, 11, 14, 14, 235

  Hut 122, 4

  Hut 123, 4, 8–9

  intelligence section, 172, 204

  letters to home written by POWs, 9–10, 69, 70–71, 204

  maps, 7, 10

  memorial at Stalag Luft III, 234, 234

  monument at Stalag Luft III, 107

  murdered escapees (fifty), viii–ix, 15–16, 17, 18, 31, 41, 222, 239–243

  Piccadilly Circus interchange station, 9

  recaptured escapees, 17–18, 27–28, 30, 34, 36–37, 49

  scrounging for materials by prisoners, 7–8

  “stooges” (prisoner lookouts), 5

  survivor escapees (three), 17, 33–34

  Tom tunnel, 4, 8–9

  tunneling difficulty, 1–2, 4–6, 7, 8

  underground microphones, 2, 4, 8

  urns of murdered escapees, 27, 31, 40, 41, 84, 96, 101, 103, 104, 109, 112, 130, 136, 150, 169, 171–172, 173, 174, 199, 201, 206, 209

  victory, symbolic, 234–235

  waste sacks escapes, 247

  X-Organization, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 204

  Greek murdered escapee, 31. See also specific murdered escapee

  Greiner (Munich Kripo), xvi, 111, 112–113

  Grisman, William (Flight Lieutenant), viii, 173, 240

  Grosch, Walther (General Inspector), 63

  Grossfahndung order, 14, 36, 176, 225

  guilty verdicts, Sagan Case trial, 230

  Gunn, Alastair (Flight Lieutenant), viii, 173, 240

  Hagamann (Lieutenant), 55–56. See also Scharpwinkel, Wilhelm (Breslau Gestapo)

  Hake, Al (Flying Officer), viii, 7, 171, 186, 240

  Hall, Charles (Flight Lieutenant), viii, 189, 240

  Hamburg, Germany, 40, 52, 53, 93, 95, 99, 144, 163, 202, 213, 215, 216, 222

  Hampden bombers, 202, 203

  Hanover, Germany, 40, 45, 52, 63

  Hansel, Max Richard (Görlitz Gestapo), xiv, 176–179, 231

  Harrison, Harold (Flight Lieutenant), xiii, 179–180, 195–199

  Harry tunnel, 4–5, 9–11, 14, 14, 172, 172, 235, 245

  Hartbee bombers, 108

  Haselsberger (Greiner’s deputy), 112

  Haw-Haw, Lord, 69

  Hayter, Anthony (Flight Lieutenant), viii, 191–200, 224, 229, 240

  Hebberling, Lore and father, 127–128

  Heidt, Marianne (Post’s mistress), 215–216, 220

  Helmut, Babette (Müller’s secretary), 182

  Hemer internment camp, 208

  Hendon Police Staff College, 73

  Hephart, Von Walter, 187

  Herberg, Walter (Karlsruhe Gestapo), xv

  Cochran murder, 132–138, 139, 140, 192–193, 224, 230

  Herrman, Jakob (Home Guard), 193–194

  Herrmann, Alfred (Home Guard), 193–194

  Heydrich, Reinhard (Gestapo), 64–65, 147

  Hilker, Heinrich (Strasbourg Gestapo), xvi, 192–193, 196–197, 198, 199, 200

  Hilker, Mathilde (Heinrich’s wife), 199

  Himmler, Heinrich (Reichsführer-SS), xiii, xiv

  death of, 38, 232

  “fifty” escapees to be executed, 15–16

&
nbsp; Hitler and, 13

  Kaltenbrunner and, 15–16, 38, 75

  Nebe and, 181

  response to escape from Stalag Luft III, 13–14

  Hitler, Adolf, xiii. See also Germany; Nazi Party

  Blitzkrieg on France and the Low Countries, 3

  Czech murders ordered by, 147

  death of, 38, 45

  Himmler and, 13

  murders of escapees (fifty) ordered by, 15–16, 17, 18

  Nebe and, 181

  response to escape from Stalag Luft III, 13–14, 15–16, 17

  Winter Olympics (1936), 110

  Hitler Youth, 144

  Hoffman, Rudolf (General), 63

  host families of evacuees, 47, 48

  Hotel Esplanade in Prague, 64

  humanity view of McKenna, 138

  Humphreys, Edgar (Flight Lieutenant), viii, 41, 189, 241

  Hut 104, 4–5, 11, 14, 14, 235

  Hut 122, 4

  Hut 123, 4, 8–9

  intelligence section, X-Organization, 172, 204

  internment camps canvassing, 42, 45–46, 62–63, 98, 100, 109, 113, 117–118, 121, 138, 151, 163, 176, 208–209, 214, 220

  interrogations. See also specific members of Special Investigating Branch (SIB)

  London Cage, 62, 63, 90–96, 110, 113, 114, 137, 140, 142, 150, 159, 170, 175, 184, 199, 212, 222, 223

  POWs by Germany, 144–145

  investigation as a complex machine, 161

  Jacobs, Walter (Kiel Gestapo), xv

  Christensen, Espelid, and Fuglesang murders, 22, 24, 27, 209–210, 210–211, 212, 224, 230

  Jaffke (Saarbrücken Kripo), 151

  jeep problems, McKenna, 59–61

  “Jews Not Wanted” signs, 110

  Johns Hopkins University, 69

  Judge Advocate General’s Office, 41, 57–58, 63–64

  justice, escaped, 161, 219, 223, 232

  justice vs. revenge, McKenna, 233, 234

  Kaehler, Hans (Kiel Gestapo), xv

  Catanach, Christensen, Espelid, and Fuglesang murders, 22, 23, 24, 25–26, 209–210, 211–212, 224, 230

  Kah, Ernst (Breslau SD), xiv, 52–54, 58, 61–62

  Kaltenbrunner, Ernst (SS Obergruppenführer), xiv, 217

  Central Security Office, 21

  Graes and, 96–97

  Himmler and, 15–16, 38, 75

  mass escapes plaguing Germany, 16

  Müller and, 16, 209

  Nebe and, 18

  Nuremberg trials, 38, 232

  police officer murder expectations of, 217

  Schauschütz and, 75

  Karlsruhe (Gestapo and Kripo), xv, 131, 132–137, 138–142, 162. See also specific members

  Karlsruhe, Germany, 140, 196, 199

  Keitel, Wilhelm (Feldmarschall), xiii, 13, 38, 232

  Kempton Park Racecourse, London, 94, 95, 152, 152

  Kensington Palace Gardens, England, 62, 90, 92

 

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